He was in rage... I don't blame him...

speaking angrily at the press conference (photo by Jiji)

怒ってるなぁ…しゃーないと思うけど…
写真：記者会見で怒りながら話す様子（写真は時事）
（以下、共同の記事：和訳は略）

(article from Kyodo)
◆ High court overturns not-guilty ruling for ex-LDP lawmaker Muraoka
TOKYO, May 10 KYODO
The Tokyo High Court on Thursday overturned a lower court's acquittal of Kanezo Muraoka, declaring the former senior lawmaker of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party guilty of concealing a 100 million yen political donation by a dental lobby to an LDP faction in July 2001.
The high court sentenced Muraoka, 75, to 10 months in prison, suspended for three years, determining as ''highly credible'' the key testimony of Toshiyuki Takigawa, then treasurer of the faction who admitted to conspiring with Muraoka. Former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, who led the faction at the time, died last July.
In March 2006, the Tokyo District Court acquitted Muraoka saying Takigawa's statements were unnatural and that he ''may have made false statements to prevent the scandal from causing trouble for former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and other senior lawmakers as well as the LDP in general.''
The defense counsel for Muraoka, who at the time of the alleged incident was acting chairman of the faction, called the Heisei Study Group, said they planned to appeal the high court ruling.
After the ruling, Muraoka, who served as chief Cabinet secretary and transport minister, expressed his surprise and anger at a press conference, saying, ''I did not expect this at all. I'm surprised by this ruling which goes along with the prosecutors' argument and I'm feeling anger.''
In handing down the ruling, Presiding Judge Masaru Suda said that Takigawa's testimony was ''rational, concrete and consistent in its core elements.''
''It also coincides with the testimony of former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto's secretary who said he had heard Muraoka's order and has extremely high credibility,'' Suda said.
''It was clearly a donation for the faction. There is no reason to make a false statement which has a high possibility of ascribing criminal responsibility to a senior faction member,'' he said.
Suda added that Muraoka's criminal responsibility cannot be downplayed because he played a ''large role'' in the crime despite being in a position that should have contributed to securing transparency of political funds as a lawmaker who had occupied important posts.
During the trials, Muraoka, who was indicted without arrest in September 2004, pleaded not guilty to the allegations, while the prosecutors demanded he be sentenced to one year in prison.
According to the ruling, Muraoka conspired with Takigawa in March 2002 not to report to the internal affairs and communications minister the 100 million yen donation provided by the Japan Dental Association in violation of the Political Funds Control Law.
The testimony in question was related to a meeting of senior faction members on March 13, 2002, attended by, among others, Muraoka, Takigawa, and Mikio Aoki, who heads the LDP's caucus in the House of Councillors.
Faction leader Hashimoto did not attend the meeting as he was hospitalized at the time. The prosecutors decided not to indict Hashimoto and Aoki because of insufficient evidence.
When the issue of the political donation came up at the meeting, Muraoka made arrangements so the donation would not be recorded in the report, according to Takigawa's statement.
Takigawa, 58, has already been convicted in connection with the donation scandal and was sentenced to 10 months in prison, suspended for four years.
==Kyodo